Site Navigation

Site Mobile Navigation

Ending the Occupation Is the Only Way to Go

As Israel mourns the tragic death of many more of its civilians, one wonders whether the two sides are able to see the futility of their approaches to solving their dispute.

The bombings were apparently in revenge for Israel's killing of scores of Palestinians during the last month. They are bound to bring, as usual, massive and disproportionate Israeli response, which in turn will provoke further Palestinian retaliation. If there is one way to deny peace a chance, this is it.

However, ultimately the cards for a peaceful settlement are in Israeli hands, for Israel is the occupying power and the Palestinians the occupied people with a right to resist that occupation.

Israel's policies of targeted assassination of Palestinian figures, frequent invasion and closure of Palestinian towns and cities, involving destruction of properties and killing of innocent people, to force the Palestinians to accept peace on Israeli terms have generated a dangerous cycle of violence.

The more Ariel Sharon draws on Israel's military might to pacify the mostly unarmed Palestinians, the more the Palestinians will resort to what is readily and cheaply available to them: suicide bombing.

While supporting the U.S.-led campaign against terror, and helping the liberation of the Afghan people from medievalist rule, the international community has refrained from according Israel a similar degree of support against the Palestinians. It appears to have made a clear distinction between terrorism and liberationist resistance.

Whether Israel likes it or not, one issue that the fight against terrorism in Afghanistan has brought to the forefront of the global agenda is the plight of the Palestinian people.

An error has occurred. Please try again later.

You are already subscribed to this email.

It is now clear that Israel's draconian and bloody approach to the Palestinian resistance has been important in enabling Osama bin Laden and his Qaida network to have plenty of fertile ground for recruiting activists and galvanizing public support. Hence the greater efforts by President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair in pursuit of ending the Israeli occupation.

Washington has never been in a stronger position to exert pressure on Israel to relinquish its occupation — the only one of its kind in today's world — in full recognition of the fact that only the creation of a viable, independent Palestinian state can fulfill Israel's need to live in peace and security.

Israel cannot expect the world to continue to view its anti-Palestinian actions as self-defense while condemning the Palestinians' retaliatory suicide bombings as acts of terrorism.

There is a peaceful way out for Israel: to withdraw from all Palestinian lands that it has occupied since 1967.

The writer is director of the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies at the Australian National University. He contributed this comment to the International Herald Tribune.

[Not to be reproduced without the permission of the author.]

We are continually improving the quality of our text archives. Please send feedback, error reports,
and suggestions to archive_feedback@nytimes.com.

A version of this article appears in print on December 4, 2001, in The International Herald Tribune. Today's Paper|Subscribe